Broccolini...

I have a question. Has anyone ever grown Broccolini (Sweet Baby Broccoli). My daughter in law purchased some seeds in hopes that I would try to grow some this fall. I grow Broccoli in the fall because it is so easy to grow, and everyone in the family (5 kids) loves it. I have approx 25 Broccoli plants in the ground now, and have room for Broccolini. I space the broccoli approx 18" apart...does Broccolini require the same space requirements??........How is it harvested?.........Broccoli has one big floret in the middle, and after harvesting the big florete I keep feeding the plant , and it continues to produce smaller florets until the end of the growing season. Any help would be appriciated.

One problem; Broccolini is a registered trademark of the Mann produce company, Which has exclusive rights in The USA. It is a hybrid between a regular broccoli and Chinese broccoli. http://www.liseed.org/osubroccoli.html The variety which started production was developed by the Japanese company Sakata and the seeds produced in Thailand. http://agsyst.wsu.edu/Broccolini.html Today other companies have began marketing other hybrid broccoli- Gai lan crosses. Atlantis, Happy Rich, Sweet Baby. Can't call it Broccolini tho. http://forums2.gardenweb.com/forums/load/cornucop/msg1216415717630.html
It is a smaller plant than regular broccoli, so closer spacing may be possible, other wise culture is roughly the same.

The word "Broccolini" is Italian and means "little Broccolis"
Just to let you know.

True, but it is a registered trademark like Vidalia onions. Some companies can get down right nasty about trademark infringement. The newer varieties are usually listed under baby broccoli and one lists it with rapini.

Thanks Farmerdill.......I read the article from WSU before I posted. I read the other links you provided, and I now have a better understanding of the crop. I direct seeded the Sweet Baby Broccoli last night, and I will hope for the best..........I was hoping maybe someone here had actually grown the crop. It sounds like a difficult crop to grow, and even more difficult to harvest...I will give it my best effort!! Thanks

This past spring I grew Happy Rich from seeds I purchased from Johnny's. I thought the flavor was better that the broccoli variety (Gypsy F1) I also grew. Johnny's has them listed under "Greens, Asian, Flower Bud Type". One thing though.... the Happy Rich plants were as big or bigger than my regular broccoli plants! Maybe that was because of our record setting heat here in suburban Maryland. We had a record number of days over 90 degrees this past season, starting in April.